Video Transcript
Edmund: Can you imagine how confusing it would be to ask someone their name and all they say is “My name is ‘I AM’”? Well, that’s exactly the name God gives Moses in the Old Testament.
Emily: When God appears to Moses in the burning bush and sends him on a mission, Moses asks God His name. And God says “I AM WHO I AM” (YHWH). This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent you’” (Exodus 3:14).
Edmund: And do you know about the sacredness and mystery behind this name that God revealed? It reminds me of Jesus teaching us in the Lord’s Prayer to pray “hallowed be your name.”
Emily: The name of God that was revealed to Moses is known as the Tetragrammaton. Ancient Hebrew did not include written vowels, so the exact pronunciation of this name was not recorded. Some Jewish traditions today avoid writing the name entirely, leaving letters out to remind us of the holiness of God and His name.
Edmund: Unlike other names of God—which describe specific attributes or roles of God—the Tertragrammaton expresses the fullness of God’s being. This name is not descriptive but essential, signifying God’s very existence and being.
Emily: The Tetragrammaton was considered so holy that it was not spoken aloud in Jewish tradition. And in 2008, the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship issued a letter directing Catholics not to pronounce it either, especially in the liturgy. Instead, a title like Adonai (Lord) was used during worship and Scripture reading.
Edmund: The Catechism reminds us in paragraph 2809 “The holiness of God is the inaccessible center of his eternal mystery. What is revealed of it in creation and history, Scripture calls “glory,” […] by sinning, man fell ‘short of the glory of God.’ From that time on, God was to manifest his holiness by revealing and giving his name, in order to restore man to the image of his Creator.”
Emily: This is why Jesus taught us to pray “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” To “hallow” means to make something holy. But God and His name are already holy. So we are actually praying for something that has implications on our lives.
Edmund: God revealed His name and His holiness not so we’d just marvel at it passively. By revealing His name, He’s revealing that we are invited into a relationship with Him. And by revealing His holiness, He’s inviting us to be holy.
Emily: God reveals His name, but He also reveals Himself by accomplishing His plan for our salvation. This plan is accomplished for us and in us only if His name is hallowed by us and in us. (CCC 2808)
Edmund: So when we pray that God’s name would be made holy, we’re acknowledging God’s holiness and asking for our life and prayer to reflect this. Remember, there are seven petitions of the Lord’s Prayer. The first three are directed toward God’s glory, the next four are directed toward our human needs.
Emily: But here’s what’s interesting. Scripture later says that Jesus’ name is “the name above all other names” in Philippians Chapter 2. Jesus actually identifies Himself with the name of the Tetragrammaton in the Gospel of John. Jesus said “Before Abraham was born, I AM” (John 8:58).
Edmund: The Catechism helps us understand this by explaining in paragraph 2812 “Finally, in Jesus the name of the Holy God is revealed and given to us…” While the Tetragrammaton reveals God as the one, true God in the Old Testament, Jesus expands this revelation by introducing the relational nature of the Trinity as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Emily: This is why we pray “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit” when we make the sign of the cross. Or when we begin any prayer. We’re also baptized “In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”.
Edmund: And this is also why God revealed in the second Commandment that we are to respect and honor His name. Because His name and His works make us holy. And this is accomplished in the person of Jesus: in Jesus’ life, words, and His sacrifice on the Cross.
Emily: This first petition of the Lord’s Prayer embodies all the others. Like the six petitions that follow, it is fulfilled by the prayer of Jesus. In the New Testament He prays: “Holy Father, protect in your name those whom you have given me.”
Edmund: When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we’re reminded of who God is, His holiness, and His plan to invite us into this holiness. We’re also reminded of Jesus, who’s the fulfillment of God’s revealed name. And we’re called to “make His name hallowed” by our life and prayer.
Emily: And we can do this when we ask God to give us grace to live our lives aligned with His will for us.
Edmund: Jesus revealed the loving Father to us. And the Lord’s Prayer invites us into the mystery of His name and His holiness. And Jesus reveals that we are invited to pray from this place of mystery and holiness, in His name. And this is why prayer to our Father is our prayer if it is prayed in the name of Jesus.
